Golf tee



' 1,635,37 July 1927' c. A. MCILVAINE 6 GOLF TEE Filed March 1 1926 Patented July 12, 1927.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GOLF TEE.

Application filed March 15, 1926. Serial No. 94,787.

My invention relates to golf tees. The object of the invention is to provide a form of tee or tee blank which may be conveniently carried in pads. packages or 'loose, ready to use or to be formed into a tee. A further object is to provide a tee blank with means of joining the ends of the strip securely so that once formed it may be used a number of times. A further object is to provide a tee which will stand securely on an uneven or rough, surface or on the grass stubble usually found on teeing places. These and other objects of my invention will he hereinafter more fully brought out. a

In order that my invention may be fully and clearly disclosed, I have shown for purposes of illustration in the accompanying drawings, one embodiment which the same may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan viewof a blank from which a tee is formed.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a tee blank having its ends connected in such a manner as to form a tee.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a tee with a ball seated thereon, resting on grass stubble.

The tee shown in these drawings is formed from a single blank of flexible material, preferably stiff paper or thin celluloid, and provided with a tongue, in the shape of a head and neck, 4:, at one end, and a transverse slot, 5, at the opposite end, so designed that the tongue, 4, when the strip is bent and twisted in a circular form, may be slipped edgewise into the slot, 5. The tee thus' formed, after the insertion of the tongue into the slot assumes a cylindrical shape, is securely engaged end to end, cannot spring apart when the ball is driven. and is"'available for "further use. The se-' cure interlocking of the ends is also an advantage in that the tee does not come apart while being placed on the ground ready for use. An important feature of this invention is the provision for three or more feet or legs, 6, 6, 6, for the ball seat of the tee. In practice it is found that tees of cylindrical shape made from straight strips without these feet, when placed on slightly uneven surfaces or on grassy teeing places, have a tendency to tip over with the ball. By using 3 points for contact with the ground this liability to tip over is overcome. When the ball is teed on grass these points penetrate the grass stubble and rest 'on the ground, thereby not only giving a secure seat for the ball but allowing the ball to be the same distance above the actual ground surface that it would be if the ground were bare. This is an important consideration in playing the game and this feature therefore is valuable. It may be noted that while the ideal number of feet is three, providing,

thereby a tripod stand, yet more than 3 feet may-be provided and the invention is not necessarily confinedto tees with 3 feet .or points of contact.

It may also be noted. that a tee with the same characteristics described may be made of metal, such as aluminum, or other material, flexible or non-flexible, in a form ready for use without being. formed from blanks by the user and the invention is not necessarily confined to tees to be formed from blanks by the user.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure b Letters atent is:

1. A go] tee blank comprising a strip of flexible material with straight, downwardly tapered or pointed projections at intervalson one side to-form legs, having a longitudinal slot in one end and a complementary.

tongue with head and neck in the opposite end for connecting its ends.

2. A golf tee blank comprising a strip of flexible material having at one end a head and neck designed to fit into "a transverse slot or opening in the opposite'end by. bending and twisting the -strip into circular form, engaging the ends by-inserting the head edgewise into .the'slot', .thereby engagin the ends in'such manner that they can only be disengaged by reversing the twist used in the formationof the tee, substantially as described in these s ecifications. Intestimohy whereof Ia m 'si nature. "CLOYD A. M01 VA NE. 

